Many peelers are known in the prior art and marketplace, virtually all peelers share the same shortcomings with respect to adaptability, repeated use, and safety. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,964 teaches that the majority of peelers in the prior art are comprised of narrow opposing, cutting edges in the peeling element or peeling blades. Such peeling elements are designed for use with thin-skinned fruits such as potatoes, carrots, and apples. The peeler taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,964 specifically claims the use of a peeling element with blades placed at a specific distance apart for use with the cutting of thick-skinned fruits and vegetables such as green bananas or plantains.
The peelers discussed as prior art and the peeler taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,671,964 both share the same shortcomings in that they either do not have replaceable peeling elements, are only capable of holding one peeling element which may or may not be replaceable, or their peeling elements are exposed and have no means for being retracted during storage.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to teach a handheld peeler with a removable multi-blade cartridge enabling a user to quickly change blades.
It is another objective of the present invention to teach a handheld peeler with a removable multi-blade cartridge that may hold blades of various designs, sizes and shapes.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to teach handheld peeler with a removable multi-blade cartridge that allows the user to retract the peeling element when it is not in use for safe storage or use around children.